


Bang, Bang, I Shot the Ground

by ZDcookie_996



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Angst, Austin 2020, Established Relationship, First Kiss, Hostage Situations, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, shots fired
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:53:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27622334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZDcookie_996/pseuds/ZDcookie_996
Summary: Shots are fired during the podium celebrations in Austin, will everyone be alright?
Relationships: Lando Norris/Max Verstappen, Nicholas Latifi/George Russell
Comments: 18
Kudos: 73





	1. Shots Fired, Shots Fired

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to the chaos that is this story whereby shots are fired during the podium celebrations in Austin! This is set where there is no covid and we would've followed the original 2020 calander hence why Austin is on it. There will be a few chapters and the second chapter will definitely be longer than the first one and more characters will be added as the story is updated! Hope you all enjoy and stay tuned for the next chapter!

Everyone was enjoying the podium celebrations, oblivious to the chaos that was about to occur. 

It had been a crazy race. Lewis did win but it was not a Mercedes 1-2 like many had anticipated. Instead, Daniel Ricciardo achieved second and Alex Albon finished third. Valtteri’s engine went half way through the race which was unfortunate for the Finn who had won pole the previous day. Max’s day was ruined due to a slow pit stop and contact with Carlos which resulted in both cars picking up damage. 

Apart from the drivers who had finished first, second and third, the rest of the drivers were in the media pen or were beginning to head back to the team motorhomes for debrief. 

The teams were busy either getting ready for debrief or were packing up the cars as the race had finished.

On the podium, the drivers had only just finished spraying the champagne and that’s when all the chaos started.

No one was paying attention to the man wandering around the paddock as the podium celebrations were occurring. Everyone was busy and so they didn’t pay any attention to him. No one paid attention as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun. 

BANG! BANG! BANG!


	2. Chaos in the Paddock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is a gunman loose in the paddock, will everyone be alright?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here is chapter 2! I'll be honest and say I wasn't entirely sure whether or not to post this chapter given what has happened in the race today but I thought maybe a bit of writing would take our minds of the race. I want to take a moment to say how glad I am that Romain is alright and how amazing it was to see him walk away from that horrible scene. We don't always take into account how dangerous motorsport is and I'm sure we are all thankful to Ian and Alan who arrived quickly and risked their own lives to help Romain. Thankfully, he is alright and hopefully we will see him race again!

The media pen went deathly silent after the three shots were fired. Drivers, journalists and PR managers were looking at each other because they had no idea what was going on. Some of the journalists instructed the cameras to cut as they finished the interviews and left the pen. 

“What’s going on?” Asked Max.

His voice was the only one who could be heard as everyone remained silent. 

Carlos then decided to leave the pen to see what was going on.

“Carlos!” Hissed Lando.

He tried to grab his teammate’s arm but the Spaniard shook him off and wandered away to see what was happening. The young Brit turned to look at Max who swallowed thickly. 

Some of the drivers were engaged in arguments with their PR managers as they tried to determine whether they had really heard the sound of shots being fired or whether it was something else.

It wasn’t until the sounds of screaming filtered around the paddock and everyone made a run for it. Cameras and microphones were dropped on the floor.

“There’s a gun! There’s a gun!”

“He’s got a gun!”

“Run, it’s not safe!”

No one had any idea about what was going on but the one thing they could make out was that there was a guy with a gun.

Valtteri was in the motorhome attending an early post race debrief as he had retired from the race on lap 14 due to an engine failure. He could hear shots being fired in the distance as he frowned and looked at his engineers. Everyone was looking at each other but they remained where they were.

Kevin had not long returned to his motorhome after he had been to the media pen. There had been an issue during the pit stop and Haas was forced to retire the car. He was on his way to his driver’s room when he heard the sound of a gun. He turned to look at his coach.

“Did you hear that?”

He received no answer but was met with a pale face and widened eyes.

Daniil was walking along the paddock with his coach when he heard the gunshots. They both ducked at the same time and when they heard no other shots, they carefully got up and ran to the Alpha Tauri motorhome. Staff members turned to look at them when they burst in, out of breath.

“Someone has a gun!” Said Daniil, nervously.

The only driver who was not aware of the chaos was Antonio Giovanazzi. He had made contact with Daniil on lap one and was forced to retire because the suspension on his car was broken. He had returned to the motorhome to get changed out of his race suit and then made his way to the media pen. The team gave him permission to go back to the hotel after a small debrief so he decided to head back to the hotel and make full use of the gym ahead of the next race. 

Lewis, Daniel and Alex had no idea what was going on. They had just finished their podium celebrations when Alexandre stopped them from leaving to go to the post race press conference.

“You all have to stay here.” He said with a stern look on his face.

Lewis scoffed whilst the other two drivers frowned.

“What are you talking about, man?” 

Alexandre paled slightly.

“There is someone in the paddock who has a gun.”

Alex gripped his trophy tighter whilst Lewis and Daniel stared at Alexandre in shock. No one on the podium had heard the shots because they were too busy enjoying the celebrations. They made no effort to move and Alexandre swallowed nervously.

“Please, stay here.” He begged.

The three drivers didn’t look like they wanted to go anywhere anytime soon. 

There were people running around everywhere. Screaming, too many people were screaming. That was all Romain could focus on and he hated it. He ran through the paddock and rushed into the Haas motorhome. He barely had time to do anything before he was being grabbed and dragged into the engineer’s room. Gunther surprisingly moved forward and wrapped his arms around the Frenchman. It wasn’t until he pulled back that Romain realised his press officer was beside him, it made him feel slightly guilty for just running off when the shots were fired.

“Are you alright?” Asked Gunther.

Romain nodded numbly, unable to say anything. He looked up and found Kevin at the other side of the room as well as some of the engineers and members from the pit wall. Kevin looked at him and nodded. Romain let out a deep breath and turned when he heard the door being locked.

Charles and Pierre were through the paddock on their way to their motorhomes with their coaches casually chatting behind them. They were busy talking about the race. Pierre had received a penalty qualifying for blocking Esteban Ocon and so he was dropped three grid places. He did well during the race but then a slow pit stop put him down to 7th position. Charles was happy enough to finish where he had qualified. He had struggled with the tyres and he was happy not to lose out. When three shots were fired, Charles and Pierre stopped walking. They looked at each other before they looked back at their coaches who looked panicked. 

“Run!”

They made a run for it down the paddock and Charles grabbed Pierre’s arm, pulling him into the Ferrari motorhome because it was closer than Alpha Tauri’s. The two coaches followed at the back of them. The motorhome was empty but Charles knew that people were probably hiding. He dragged Pierre into his driver’s room, closing the door after Andrea and Pyry got in too. Charles sat on the small sofa. 

“Fuck, what’s going on?” 

Max had grabbed Lando’s hand in the media pen and they made a run for it. They didn’t have time to think about Vicky or Harry who they had left behind. Max didn’t really have time to think about the fact that he probably outed himself and Lando to other people. They had been in a relationship since the German Grand Prix but only a few of the drivers knew because they were close to the couple. No one from Red Bull or McLaren knew. This wasn’t the time to be taking pictures or spreading gossip. If someone was going around with a gun, Max’s main instinct was to protect Lando. It wasn’t long before they found themselves standing outside of the McLaren motorhome. The door was locked and Lando pounded on it. 

“No one is going to let us in, Lando.” Max said, defeated.

Lando let out an annoyed huff. Max looked around and then grabbed Lando’s arm.

“Come on, we can hide in the garage.” 

Lando followed Max into the garage. It was empty. No engineers or mechanics in sight. Surely they would be fine there. The cars were not in the garage which meant they were probably still in Parc Ferme. They both hid behind the main desk which was close to the back entrance of the garage. Max squeezed Lando’s hand as the young Brit was shaking.

“We’ll be fine, I’m here.” Said Max, softly.

Lando could only pray that his boyfriend was telling the truth. 

Lance had been with his press officer in the media pen when the shots were fired. He had just finished an interview and was waiting on another driver finishing up with another journalist. He dropped his drinks bottle and looked at his press officer who was gazing around the media pen when everyone was quiet. They said nothing and stayed completely still until screaming reached their ears and they knew they had to get out of there. As Lance ran through the paddock, he could only hope that he was far away from the gunman. He had no idea who to look out for but at the moment, he was concentrating on getting out of the paddock. He ran into the motorhome with his press officer panting at the back of him. Otmar had been talking to an engineer and turned when he heard Lance running into the motorhome. The older man frowned as Sergio came running into the motorhome as well. 

“What’s going on?” He questioned.

Lance and Sergio turned to look at one another but before either of them could answer, they heard screaming coming from outside.

Esteban was just leaving the media pen when he heard the gunshots. He froze and looked around the media pen. No one moved and he felt sick. He tried to determine where the gunshots had come from but it was impossible as it had gone quiet. It wasn’t until people began screaming that Esteban knew he had to get out of there. He had a bad feeling he was making a mistake by heading towards the motorhome as people were running in his direction but he didn’t know where else to go. He barely had time to relax once he was in the building. Michael, Daniel’s performance coach, came running towards him.

“What’s going on?” He asked.

“Gunshots, someone in the paddock has a gun.” Said Esteban, quietly.

Michael’s eyes widened. Esteban looked as white as a sheet. The young Frenchman then fell onto the floor and began to mumble constantly:

“There’s someone with a gun, there’s someone with a gun.”

He stopped mumbling when his performance coach, Dan Williams, grabbed his arm and he looked up at him. 

“I don’t want to die.” He murmured.

Michael wanted to hit the young driver and tell him how stupid he was being but now wasn’t the time as Dan pulled Esteban up from the floor. Cyril came running into the motorhome and looked at the three men before he glanced around the room at everyone else who was standing there.

“We have to hide.” 

Carlos had wandered out of the media pen to see what was going on. He walked past marshals who were standing chatting as well as other members of staff from the paddock. No one was acting out of the ordinary or acting like something was going on. He then lifted his head when he heard people screaming. People were running everywhere. He didn’t know what to do or where to go. He wanted to see what the gunman looked like but with the paddock filled with people, it was going to be virtually impossible. There was also the point that whilst the gunman might be hiding amongst people, Carlos stood out like a sore thumb because he was still wearing his race suit. He quickly pulled the sleeves down and wrapped them around his waist. He then decided to go out to his car until he remembered he didn’t have his pass or anything on him. There was a voice in his head telling him to just go back to the motorhome but that was an easy option. He found himself back near the media pen which was deserted. It was quiet. No one was around. He ran and hid when he heard the sound of a gun being loaded. He stayed still and didn’t move until it went silent again. Wanting to see what the gunman looked like, he peeked his head up and finally caught sight of the man who was causing chaos in the paddock. 

The man was wearing a black baseball cap. He had a black top on as well as jeans and trainers. He looked like any normal man but he had a gun in his right hand. A revolver. Carlos had no idea how he managed to sneak it into the paddock but all he knew was that there was an actual gun in the paddock. The Spaniard was cursing the fact that he didn’t have his phone on him as he couldn’t warn anyone or tell someone what the gunman looked like. 

Carlos slowly and carefully followed the gunman, hiding in between the entrances to the garages. The gunman then turned and walked through the garage which belonged to Renault. More gunshots could be heard and Carlos closed his eyes, praying that no one had been hiding there. He then moved and slowly made his way towards the Renault garage. He ducked down and found the gunman standing at the front of the garage. His back was facing Carlos. The Spaniard held his breath as he waited for the gunman’s next move. He could only hope that the man didn’t turn around otherwise he would be caught. 

Seb had been in the garage when the shots were fired. He had made his way around the media pen quickly which was unusual for him given that he liked to talk a lot to the journalists. Today, he wasn’t in the mood and he decided to head to the garage after he had finished with his media duties. He didn’t really want to go to the post race debrief. The team had mucked up another pit stop and it was getting increasingly difficult to not blame the team when the journalists kept bringing it up. He lost out on points yet again and he didn’t really want to go to the debrief where he would be expected to act like it wasn’t the team’s fault. 

No one was in the garage when he arrived and so he decided to work on the car knowing that the mechanics would eventually come round and pack everything away to head to Mexico. What he wasn’t aware of was the fact that everyone was hiding in the motorhomes and away from the paddock as there was a gunman on the loose. It wasn’t until he caught sight of someone out of the corner of his eye that he turned around. He moved towards the entrance of the garage and saw a man walking past the garages. His eyes widened when he noticed there was a gun in the man’s hand. He quickly ran out of the garage and ran towards the Ferrari motorhome. He pounded on the door as it wouldn’t open and he shouted loudly without thinking as he begged someone to let him in. 

Another gunshot made him freeze. 

Kimi had made quick work of the media pen and was back in the motorhome. Everyone knew that he hated talking to the media, he just wanted to drive which was why the debrief was always short and sweet from his side. Kimi knew what he was doing and the team trusted him. He had just started the debrief with his engineers when the shots were fired. No one heard them and it wasn’t until Fred ran inside, shouting, that people realised what was going on. One of the engineers locked the door and Kimi was angry.

“What are you doing? We need to get out of here!” He shouted.

“We need to stay here.” Another engineer insisted.

Kimi was having none of it and he unlocked the door and moved in the direction of his driver’s room. Mark wasn’t there and Kimi was worried. He hoped that nothing had happened to his friend and coach. He moved all around the motorhome, searching for Mark and ignoring people who were telling him to hide. Fred was chasing after him, begging him to stay in his driver’s room. 

“I have to find Mark.” Said Kimi, calmly.

His team principal shook his head.

“No, Kimi. We can’t look for Mark right now. It is too dangerous.” 

Kimi glared at the older man and moved towards the entrance of the motorhome. He grunted in frustration when he found that he was locked in. 

“You can’t leave, Kimi.”

The Finn turned around and stared at Fred.

“Let me out.” He demanded.

Fred stared back at him for a moment before he sighed and opened the door, closing it the minute Kimi was outside. 

Kimi looked up and down the paddock. It was empty for now. He decided to go into the garage to see if Mark was hiding there. Mark wasn’t in the garage. Kimi sighed and was about to turn around to head back to the motorhome when a man walked past the garage. The man was holding a gun. This was the person that everyone was hiding from. Kimi found himself walking out of the garage and into the pit lane. He was standing, frozen, as he watched the gunman walk along the pitlane. Unfortunately, there was the sound of banging and screaming which made the gunman turn around. 

The Finn swallowed thickly as the gunman’s eyes fell on him. He felt sick when the man smirked at him and he raised his gun. Kimi turned and ran back into the garage, heart in his mouth when he heard a shot being fired. Thankfully, he was fine and he panted as he attempted to hide near the back of the garage.

Max wrapped his arms around Lando when a gunshot was heard from outside. His boyfriend had gasped and they both knew that the gunman was close. Too close. Max let go of Lando and stood up. Lando’s eyes widened as he stared up at his boyfriend.

“I need to see what’s going on.” Said Max, determinedly.

“No, Max. You can’t!” Hissed Lando.

The Dutchman refused to listen and moved forward before Lando jumped up and grabbed his arm.

“Max, please!”

Max sighed and pulled Lando in for a kiss. Lando tightened his grip on Max’s arm and eventually they pulled apart but let their foreheads rest together.

“I love you.” Murmured Lando.

Max smiled.

“I love you too.” He replied.

The Dutchman took Lando’s hand that had been on his arm and gave it a firm squeeze before he dropped it and walked away from his boyfriend. Lando ducked down again as Max walked towards the entrance of the garage that faced the pitlane. Tears began to form in Lando’s eyes. He froze when he heard the sound of a mobile phone ringing in the distance. 

George was another driver who was hiding in a garage. He had been in the media pen along with most of the other drivers when the shots rang out. He ended up colliding with another person who was running in the opposite direction. After he managed to get up off the ground, he decided to hide in the Williams garage as it was quieter. 

What he didn’t know was that Nicky had come to look for him when he couldn’t find the young Brit in the motorhome. The Canadian had developed feelings for his teammate and he was determined to find him. He sighed with relief when he found the Brit hiding in the garage by the engineers' console which was placed in the middle of where the two cars usually sat. 

George flinched when another shot was fired. His heart beating rapidly as he could tell that it was fired from close by. He gasped when a hand suddenly covered his mouth. He struggled initially until he found that the hand belonged to Nicky. His teammate removed his hand as George sighed.

“What are you doing here?” Whispered George.

“Trying to find you, I wanted to make sure you were safe.” Replied Nicky, softly.

George blushed as he looked at Nicky who was crouching behind him.

Suddenly, a ringtone blasted around the Williams garage. George cursed as he scrambled to find the phone which was on the console. Nicky stood up immediately as well as he watched his teammate hunt for the phone. They both sighed as George cancelled the call and the garage fell silent again. The silence didn’t last for long, however.

“Well, well, well. Look who we have here.”

George and Nicky looked up and they found the gunman standing a few feet away from them. The gun was aimed at them.


	3. Protect at all Cost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> George is held hostage, will he be alright?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Here is the final chapter to this story. This carries on from where the gunman finds George and Nicky hiding in the Williams garage. Will they be alright and will anyone get hurt? Hope you all enjoy and thanks to everyone for their comments and kudos!

Nicky and George watched on in horror as the man stepped forward, gun still in hand. George was powerless to stop Nicky moving in front of him as a means of protection so he wouldn’t get hurt. The Canadian glared at the gunman.

“Don’t do this, please.” 

The gunman laughed.

“I don’t really think you’re in a position to challenge me.” He smirked.

Nicky remained silent and could only pray that George remained behind him, out of view. He didn’t care about himself, he just wanted the man out of there and away from his teammate. The man tilted the gun and pointed it in the direction of the entrance to the garage before he focused it back on the two drivers.

“Move.” He instructed.

Nicky looked back at George who nodded nervously and he slowly made his way towards the entrance of the garage, aware that George was right behind him. He had no idea what the gunman was planning but he couldn’t make a run for it because the man was right behind them. Nicky and George found themselves at the entrance of the garage as they waited for the gunman’s next move. They were not prepared for the shouting they could hear at the other end of the pitlane. The gunman was swearing as he noticed it was the police who were at the end of the pitlane. He could see that most of them were carrying guns as they made their way up the pitlane in his direction and he was outnumbered. He looked around but it was already too late to run, then again, he could turn things around to his own advantage. Nicky was too focused on watching the police that he hadn’t realised the gunman had grabbed George until the brunette started shouting. George was silenced by the gunman pressing his weapon against his temple as the arm that had grabbed him moved to hold the front of his race suit. Nicky froze and prayed that the police would stop as well. His attention was now on his teammate who was shaking slightly. The gunman hauled him back as he tried to get away from the police. Nicky held out his hands as an innocent gesture.

“Please, don’t hurt him.” He pleaded.

Although the gunman had a hostage, he was still nervous about the police. Whatever his intentions were, it was clear that he hadn’t really thought it through.

“They need to get out of here.” Said the gunman, shakily.

Nicky didn’t know what to do. He was concerned about George’s safety but he didn’t want to do anything stupid. Unfortunately, the police continued to advance until the gunman pushed the gun further into George’s temple and the young driver winced. An order was given to stop as they raised their guns at the man. 

“Stay where you are!” Warned the gunman.

“You are outnumbered. Let George go and we can all walk away from this safely.” Shouted a police officer.

The gunman scoffed.

“I want you guys to go, I’m not going anywhere.” He insisted

Something caught the corner of his eye from further along the pitlane, behind the police and he snarled when he noticed it was a driver.

“There’s no use in hiding! You better come out!” Shouted the gunman.

Nicky turned to see what was going on behind him. It felt like a movie but this was real. He noticed Max moving out of one of the garages and he sighed as the Dutchman walked towards the police. One of the officers held him back and so he stayed within the gunman’s sight as he glanced back in the direction he had just come from. 

“What is it that you want?” An officer asked.

“What’s life without a little bit of fun?” The gunman teased.

The officer who was in charge didn’t look happy. He didn’t have a gun on him but he was attempting to lead some sort of negotiation. 

“That’s not much of an answer.” He replied.

The gunman looked furious.

“What right do you have to challenge me? You’re not taking me seriously!” He said, angrily.

“We will take this seriously when you stop putting people’s lives at stake. I’ll ask again, what is it you want?” 

The gunman sighed quietly.

“Now we are getting somewhere.”

Only George heard him as everyone else frowned.

“Why not get attention at one of the biggest sporting events in America? Why not cause a little bit of chaos because we can have guns in the country, so we should be allowed to use them, right? How about we teach that Mercedes scum who is boss? Everyone here thinks they are so high and mighty. Perhaps people need to be taught a lesson. There are people who live in fear in this country. Why not create fear now when it is the least expected? All these drivers go home at the end of their race, not everyone gets to do that. Taking life for granted, wrong move.” 

Nicky and Max swallowed nervously. The police were trying to determine what to do next. There was whirring from up above them and everyone looked up to see a helicopter close by. The gunman let out a shout of frustration before he fired at the helicopter. Nicky, Max and the officers ducked down as the bullets bounced off the helicopter and around the pitlane. George flinched at the sound.

Meanwhile, the other drivers and team members had no idea what was going on down in the pitlane. 

In the Haas motorhome, Kevin and Romain were hiding in the engineers room along with other members of the team. They were both sitting in chairs at the table they usually sat at for the post race debrief. Romain desperately wanted to go to his room to grab his phone but they had been locked in. He wanted to call his wife to let her know he was alright but it wasn’t possible right now.

“How long do you think we will stay here for?” He dared to ask.

Guenther stopped pacing around the room as he looked over at his driver.

“When someone catches the fucking idiot with the gun.” He said, bluntly.

He continued to pace the room again. It fell silent for a while. They all jumped when they heard more shots being fired, although it was distant, danger was still nearby. 

Daniil had been hiding in his driver’s room. Franz had wanted everyone to stay in the same place but Daniil wanted to be alone so he promised to remain in his room and locked himself in. He had made the decision to call his parents as he finally had access to a phone. They were worried but relieved to find out that he was alright. For a while, he paced around the room and then sat down on the small sofa, head in his hands. His head shot up when he heard the sound of gunshots in the distance. 

Valtteri and the engineers had since locked themselves in the engineers’ room. They were all stunned when they heard gunshots in the distance. Riccardo, Valtteri’s race engineer, had left the room to find out what was going on. Once he heard the news, he ran straight back to the engineers’ room and frantically locked the door behind him.

“What’s going on?” Asked Valtteri.

“There’s a gunman in the paddock.” Responded Riccardo, slowly.

The Finn had been trying to get in touch with his girlfriend who wasn’t in Austin for the race. After the third attempt, he slammed the phone down on the table and sighed. A little while later, his phone rang and it was Tiffany.

“Hey, what’s going?” She asked, worriedly.

“There’s someone with a gun in the paddock. I’m fine, I’m in the engineers’ room but I wanted to let you know in case you heard anything.” Soothed Valtteri.

Tiffany sighed on the other end of the phone.

“Thank god you’re alright.” 

Valtteri ran a hand through his hair.

“I wish I was at home with you, I wanted to say I wish you were here with me but I’m glad you’re as far away from this paddock.” He said in relief.

Tiffany sighed.

They spent a few minutes talking about the race until there were gunshots in the distance again that made Valtteri pause.

“Val?” 

The Finn opened and closed his mouth a few times as words refused to come out. He managed to clear his throat as he clutched the phone tighter.

“I love you Tiff.” He murmured.

There was a moment of silence on the phone as Valtteri closed his eyes.

“I love you too.” 

Charles was listening to his best friend talking on the phone. Pyry had given his phone to Pierre as the Frenchman had left his in the motorhome ahead of the race. He was informing Franz that he and Pyry were alright and that they were hiding in the Ferrari motorhome. The young Frenchman scoffed as he ended the phone call.

“What?” Questioned Charles.

Pierre laughed.

“Franz said this isn’t the time to steal data from Ferrari.”

Charles snorted and took in a deep breath. Pierre moved closer to him as they shared the small sofa. Andrea and Pyry were nervously hovering by the door which was still locked.

“We will be alright, won’t we?” Asked Charles, nervously.

Pierre sighed.

“We’re together. That’s what matters.” He said, softly.

Charles gave him a soft smile as his friend ran a hand down his back. Everyone in the room flinched when they heard sounds of banging. They all held their breath. Pierre wrapped an arm around Charles’ shoulder, praying that this would be over soon.

Sergio was in his driver’s room with Lance. When the screaming filtered around the paddock, Otmar told them to hide so Sergio had grabbed Lance’s arm and dragged him to his room. He didn’t want his teammate to be alone. He paced around the small space with Lance biting his lip nervously looking up from where he was sitting on the small sofa. It had only occurred to both Lance and Sergio when they had burst into the room that their coaches weren’t around.

“Maybe they’re in the motorhome.” Said Lance, trying to offer an explanation.

Sergio didn’t answer and continued to pace around the room.

“Hey.”

The Mexican stopped.

“We’ll be fine.” Said Lance, gently.

Sergio finally looked up at his teammate and sighed. He then moved towards his bag in the corner and pulled out his phone.

“I need to call my wife.” He muttered.

Lance could only watch on as Sergio anxiously dialled his wife’s number. They couldn’t look at each other when the sound of more gunshots echoed from outside.

Dan and Michael had to haul Esteban into his driver’s room as the young Frenchman was panicking. Michael had left the two of them alone so he could go and hide in Daniel’s room. Cyril could be heard instructing people to hide as Dan locked the door and turned towards Esteban who was sitting on the sofa. He was pale and shaking. Dan knelt down beside Esteban and tried to gain eye contact but the young driver stubbornly stared at the floor.

“We’ll be alright, Esteban. Everything will be alright.” He tried to comfort the Frenchman.

Esteban shook his head, furiously.

“You don’t know that.” He whispered.

Dan sighed. Esteban was right. The Frenchman rocked himself backwards and forwards as he took in shallow breaths. He only stopped when more gunshots were fired. He nearly stopped breathing altogether.

Seb regretted banging on the door of the motorhome the minute he heard more gunshots. His heart was in his throat. He turned around to look around the paddock area and there was silence. Nothing could prepare him for Mattia grabbing his arm and hauling him into the motorhome. His team principal looked furious as he backed him up against the wall.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? Do you know there’s a gunman about?” He asked, furiously.

Seb nearly rolled his eyes.

“Of course I do but I didn’t want to be outside in full view to be shot at.” He replied, snarkily. 

Mattia shook his head before he shoved past Seb to override the controls to the door then walked away from the German. Seb sighed as he watched Mattia for a moment before he turned back towards the door. He could only hope that he hadn’t caused someone to get hurt. 

Kimi was hiding at the back of his garage. He wished he had kept his phone on him as he was sure that his wife would be worried. It was impossible for people not to find out about this, it would be all over social media. He could hear shouting from the pitlane and he had no idea what was going on. He moved to see the entrance of the garage and found police officers passing, carrying guns. It will be over soon, he could only hope. That thought went out of his mind when more gunshots were fired repeatedly, one at the back of the other. He stayed still as he tried to listen out to see what was happening. 

The three drivers who had been on the podium had listened to Alexandre and remained where they were. They hadn’t left the room but that didn’t mean they were desperate to stay there. Alex was busy pacing around the room whilst Lewis and Daniel were sitting in the chairs, nervously waiting on news.

“What do you think is going on?” Daniel asked the two other drivers.

Lewis sighed as he leaned back in his chair.

“Not a clue. I just hope no one is hurt.” He said, softly.

They all nearly jumped out of their skins when Alexandre came storming into the room, frantically speaking on the phone to someone. He turned the TV on which had been switched off a while ago. Lewis and Daniel both leaned forward in their seats to look at the screen whilst Alex moved closer to get a better look. Alexandre moved back, still on the phone. The screen showed the pitlane but from a wider angle. Alex frowned at the TV. Alexandre then placed his other hand over his phone as he turned to face the other drivers.

“These are live shots in the pitlane, I figured you might want to see what’s happening.” He explained to them.

Alexandre went back to his phone call as he moved across to the other side of the room to let the drivers see what was going on. Someone was clearly filming this from the grandstand but all that mattered was that this was real. It was happening now. The pitlane was then zoomed in and Alex gasped when he saw George being held hostage by the gunman. Nicky and Max were there as well. The police were clearly in a standoff but the drivers had no idea of what was being said. 

“Fuck.”

Alex couldn’t say for certain whether it was Daniel or Lewis who had let out the swear word but he knew it wasn’t him. He was speechless as he watched the man hold his best friend with a gun at his head. He felt sick. Daniel could almost sense what Alex was thinking and he was up and out of his seat as Alex attempted to make a run for it.

“Get off me, I need to go and help George!” Shouted Alex.

He struggled against the Australian but Daniel held firm.

“We can’t leave, Alex. I know you want to help George but we can’t do anything. The police are there anyway, they can help.” Lewis tried to tell him.

Alex stopped struggling and slumped into Daniel’s chest. He felt himself being pushed into a chair and he held his head in his hands as Daniel rubbed a hand over his back. Lewis and Daniel shared a look before their eyes fell back on the TV screen.

Carlos had been debating on whether to move to the front of the garage but he remained where he was by the panel to the engineers’ computers. He hadn’t moved when the gunman made his way down the pitlane. Thankfully, he hadn’t turned around and so Carlos was safe for now. He could hear shouting and his heart was beating rapidly when he didn’t recognise the voice. There were voices he didn’t recognise, he hadn’t seen the police officers as he was too busy trying to remain hidden. He swallowed nervously when he caught sight of Max wandering down the pitlane. The gunman must have spotted him. He could only hope that Max would be alright. He had no idea what was going on as he could only hear raised voices. There were more gunshots which made Carlos instinctively duck down. He sighed when there was silence once more. How long for, he didn’t know.

Lando was biting his nails. He was in a frantic state and he had tears in his eyes when he realised that Max had been spotted as his boyfriend walked down the pitlane. He couldn’t hear what was going on but something was happening. He wanted to go and follow Max but he couldn't move. His boyfriend would be furious with him anyway if he were to be caught too. He flinched and covered his ears with his hands as the gunshots echoed around the paddock. Reluctantly, he removed his hands when the gunshots were over. He held his breath as he prayed that Max wouldn’t get hurt. 

Further up the pitlane, the gunman was losing his patience with the police officers who were refusing to leave.

“We’re not going anywhere.” Insisted the officer in charge.

It was clear that the gunman hadn’t thought this through. He obviously thought he would get away with causing drama and then be able to leave. It wasn’t that simple.

“You’re sticking up for them, aren’t you? All of them getting paid millions and they don’t care about anyone but themselves. They have no idea what it’s like to live in the real world. All they care about is money. Life isn’t just about that, they can have whatever they want but what about the rest of us?” The gunman shouted, angrily.

The police remained silent, they didn’t know what to say and the officer in charge had no clue as to what was going on in the man’s head. 

The final straw came when the gunman saw a camera flash out of the corner of his eye. He raised his head up in the direction of the grandstand and could see someone in the distance holding a camera, clearly filming him. He saw red. Immediately, he let go of George and shoved him so that he hit his head against the entrance of the garage as he fell to the floor.

“If they want a show, they’re going to get a show! I’ll shoot someone if I have to!”

George looked up in horror as the gun was now aimed at him as the gunman had a finger on the trigger, ready to fire. The young driver didn’t hear his teammate shout his name nor did he hear the call of the officer in charge commanding someone to shoot. Suddenly, two shots were fired. He gasped. The gunman went down screaming, clutching his shoulder. An officer ran forward and grabbed the gun before throwing it away from the man on the floor. George barely registered Nicky coming close to him to help him off the ground. He could only watch on as several police officers made their way towards the gunman to put cuffs on him as they dragged him away from George and down the pitlane. Nicky blocked his teammate’s view of the man as he turned him around and led him through the garage in order to return to the motorhome.

“Come on.” He said, softly.

Max was in his own little world. He couldn’t believe what he had witnessed. He was too busy staring at the ground where George had been not that long ago.

“Max!”

The Dutchman turned around when he heard his name. He let out a relieved sigh when he found Lando staring at him from the other end of the pitlane. The young Brit was soon running towards him and soon enough, they had their arms wrapped around one another. Max ran a hand through his boyfriend’s hair as the young driver sobbed into his shoulder. Lando had witnessed the police dragging the gunman away when he had heard shouting coming from outside the garage. He knew it was safe and he instantly jumped to his feet to go and find Max. He had never been so happy to be in his boyfriend’s arms. 

There was a shared sense of relief that soon filtered around the paddock. Daniel had wrapped his arms around Alex when the young driver had sobbed having witnessed George being shoved towards the ground. Alex cried into his shoulder when he saw the police dragging the man away. Lewis patted his arm, knowing that it must have been a worrying time not only for those in the pitlane but for Alex too. Carlos found himself standing in the pitlane watching the scene before him as Max and Lando held onto each other. He smiled gently before turning and made his way to the motorhome. 

It wasn’t long before doors were being unlocked and various people were on their phones calling loved ones to let them know they were alright. 

Nicky kept his hand on George’s back as they made their way to the motorhome. Team members began to pull them in for hugs, having heard about the drama that had occurred in the pitlane. Everyone wanted to make sure they were alright, especially George. Nicky could see that George was shaking and overwhelmed so he led him to his driver’s room.

“How about you get changed out of your race suit and I’ll come and see you when you’re ready?” He asked, gently.

George nodded numbly and closed the door behind him as Nicky made his way to his own room. The Canadian couldn’t help but sigh as he fought back tears that had suddenly gathered in his eyes. He was so grateful that George was safe. He didn’t know what he would do if anything had happened to George. Eventually, he changed out of his race suit and back into the team’s clothing. He glanced at his phone for a moment and decided to ignore the missed calls and messaged from family and friends asking what was going on. His focus was on George. He made his way out of the room and gently knocked on his teammate’s door before he opened it. He stopped when he looked up at George. The young brunette had been crying as his eyes were red and there were tears that were glistening, ready to fall. He looked so pale as he shakily struggled to pull on his Williams fleece, all the while, keeping his eyes on Nicky. 

“Nicky.” Murmured George.

Before Nicky could stop himself, he raced forward and cupped the back of George’s neck as he pulled him in, smashing their lips together. He forced himself away from George when he noticed that his teammate hadn’t responded. George was just staring at him with wide eyes. Nicky felt sick. He had now ruined everything. He had developed feelings for the brunette as they had gotten to know each other due to them being teammates. He had been so scared when he had seen the man with the gun and his main instinct was to protect George. As far as he was concerned, they were just friends and now George was possibly going to hate him because Nicky couldn’t control his actions.

“I’m so sorry, I was so worried and I really like you George. I’ve ruined everything now but I can’t help it, I just want you to be safe. It was so terrifying seeing that gun-”

Nicky was cut off by George closing the gap between them as he kissed him. George had a tight grip on Nicky’s fleece as the Canadian wrapped his other arm around his teammate’s waist. Nicky sighed into the kiss as he felt George relax. When they pulled apart for air, Nicky rested his forehead against George’s. 

“I’m so glad you’re alright.” Whispered Nicky.

“I’ll be fine, Nicky, because you’re here with me.” Murmured George. 

Nicky smiled at him softly then tightened his grip on the brunette as they hugged each other. George felt tears fill his eyes once more as he rested his head on Nicky’s shoulder but it was for an entirely different reason. 

He was safe in Nicky’s arms, he would be alright with Nicky by his side.


End file.
